Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, a one-week ultimatum to publicly apologise to airport officials and pay a ₦25,000 fine over the wrongful parking of his vehicle at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Keyamo issued the directive in a statement on Friday while releasing what he described as CCTV footage of the incident. He maintained that Obi’s allegation that his vehicle was unjustly clamped as part of a Federal Government campaign of persecution was false.
The minister said he ordered an internal investigation after Obi publicly raised the allegation.
According to Keyamo, CCTV footage showed that Obi arrived at the domestic terminal of the Abuja airport at about 8:28 p.m. on July 4, 2026, and entered the terminal building with two other occupants after alighting from his vehicle.
He explained that the police officer driving Obi’s vehicle parked it in the airport’s designated drop-off zone, left it unattended and proceeded into the terminal, contrary to airport regulations that require drivers to remain with their vehicles in that area.
Keyamo said airport security personnel subsequently clamped the vehicle after it had been left unattended, stressing that officials were unaware the vehicle belonged to Obi at the time.
He further alleged that when the police driver returned and found the vehicle clamped, he contacted Obi by telephone and handed the phone to the airport manager.
According to the minister, Obi identified himself during the conversation and requested that the vehicle be released, after which airport officials released it without collecting the prescribed ₦25,000 penalty.
Keyamo said the vehicle remained unattended for about 30 minutes, describing the action as a security breach that contravened international airport safety standards.
He accused the former Anambra State governor of attempting to create what he called a false narrative of political persecution over an incident that resulted from a violation of airport regulations.
The minister demanded that Obi publicly apologise to airport workers, whom he claimed were unfairly portrayed as agents of persecution, and voluntarily return to the airport to pay the outstanding fine.
He warned that if Obi fails to comply within one week, he would direct the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take further action.
“As the Minister of Aviation, I felt a moral duty to investigate and authenticate the claim made by opposition candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, a few days ago that the tyres of his car were ‘unjustly’ clamped at the airport, suggesting a ‘persecution agenda’ against him by the Federal Government. Politics aside, every Nigerian is entitled to fair treatment under the law.
“I therefore instituted an internal inquiry over the issue.
“Luckily enough, the entire Abuja airport is covered by CCTV cameras, real-time, 24/7. But apparently, this fact was unknown to Mr. Peter Obi. Otherwise, perhaps he would have been more circumspect before rushing to the media to cry ‘persecution’,” the statement read.
